Today, electronic mail (email) is considered a critical application for any enterprise. Unfortunately, configuring and managing an email server is difficult. For example, setting up an email server typically requires obtaining a connection to the Internet and obtaining a static IP address. In addition, an enterprise probably must purchase a domain name, e.g., mycompany.com. This can take anywhere from a few hours to a few days depending on the top-level domain. Once the domain name has been obtained, the enterprise must then configure the domain's Domain Name System (DNS) mail exchanger (MX) records to point to the email server's static IP address.
Very likely, an enterprise must also configure their firewall to allow several types of connections, and to forward those connections to the server. Furthermore, an enterprise must ensure that their Internet service provider (ISP) allows DNS MX lookups and outgoing simple mail transport protocol (SMTP) connections, or configure the server to use the ISP's mail relay server.
An enterprise may also obtain a digital certificate, e.g., a SSL/X.509 certificate, for their domain and install it on their mail server so that users can securely check their email. Most enterprises obtain services of a backup mail server and update the domain's MX records with the backup server's details. This is so that if the enterprise's main email server is offline, mail does not get lost, but instead gets delivered to the backup server.
Unfortunately, this is a lot of complicated work that is likely beyond many enterprises. When managing a mail server, mistakes are common and can be difficult to diagnose. Many enterprises, such as small and medium businesses, lack the staff and resources to manage and troubleshoot their own mail server.
Some enterprises utilize a hosted solution in which they delegate of their email and mail servers to another party. However, hosted solutions have several limitations. Hosted solutions typically limit the control that an enterprise can have over their email and mail servers. This is because most hosted solutions utilize servers that are shared across multiple enterprises, and thus, no single enterprise can have total control of the email server in a typical hosted solution. Hosted solutions often limit (or charge increased costs) for higher amounts of storage space or for certain volumes of email. Mail servers can consume large amounts of storage or support large volumes of traffic. In these situations, hosted solutions can become quite expensive. Security is also another concern with hosted solutions. When using a hosted solution, an enterprise must often agree to the security policies of the hosting organization. Thus, there are many instances where a third party may be given access to sensitive email data of an enterprise.
It would therefore be desirable to provide a solution that allows an enterprise, an office, a small business, etc. to have control over their mail server, yet assists with the configuration and management of the mail server. In addition, it would be desirable to allow users to immediately begin using their mail server without any difficult configuration.